The present invention, in some embodiments thereof, relates to surgical devices and, more particularly, but not exclusively, to a method and apparatus for removing tissue from body organs.
Minimally-invasive surgery generally involves use of endoscopic or similar devices which may be inserted through incisions in the skin, through body cavities, and/or through other anatomical openings. The procedures frequently involve remote-control manipulation of instruments for removing tissue from body organs, such as in the circulatory system, digestive system, nervous system, muscular system, skeletal system, and the other systems of the body. Occasionally, the tissues are difficult to access or may be positioned close to organs which are delicate and relatively easily damaged. This may require that additional incisions be made in the body for accessing the area and/or for introducing additional surgical instruments and/or facilitating operation of the instruments.
Spinal stenosis is an example of a condition where tissue removal is made relatively difficult due to the difficulty in accessing the spinal canal (neuroforamen) and the proximity to the spinal cord. Devices and methods have been suggested in the art which attempt to treat conditions such as those of spinal stenosis using minimally-invasive surgery.
U.S. Patent Publication US 2006/0200155 to Harp describes “a reciprocating surgical file system for precisely removing bone and/or other tissue. The system allows a user to maneuver the system and navigate into hard-to-access sites under a direct vision mechanism. A transmission mechanism converts rotary motion from a motor into reciprocating motion and provides it to the surgical file for precision removal of bone or other tissue. A pulsatile pump mechanism is operatively coupled with the transmission mechanism and provides irrigating fluid to the surgical site.”
U.S. Patent Publication US 2006/0135882 to Bleich describes “methods and apparatus are provided for selective surgical removal of tissue. In one variation, tissue may be ablated, resected, removed, or otherwise remodeled by standard small endoscopic tools delivered into the epidural space through an epidural needle. The sharp tip of the needle in the epidural space, can be converted to a blunt tipped instrument for further safe advancement. The current invention includes specific tools that enable safe tissue modification in the epidural space, including a barrier that separates the area where tissue modification will take place from adjacent vulnerable neural and vascular structures. A nerve stimulator may be provided to reduce a risk of inadvertent neural abrasion.”
U.S. Pat. No. 7,189,240 to Dekel describes “a method of treating spinal stenosis, in which a rasp is brought through a part of a spinal channel and then axially moved so that the rasp removes a stenosis in the spinal channel. Optionally, a shield protects a spinal cord or other sensitive tissues in the spinal channel.”
Additional background art includes U.S. Patent Publications 2006/0089609, 2006/0241648, 2008/0086034, 2009/0036936, 2009/0143807, 2010/0262147, 2008/0183175, 2008/0183192, 2008/0221605, 2010/0082033, 2010/0211076, 2006/0200155, 2010/0286695, 2010/0298832; U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,558,390, 7,014,633; U.S. Design Pat. D611146, D606654; Foreign Patent NL1009471.